Extracting Fear from Extraction

I was being railed down a corridor, see, just minding the business of finding every little ammo/health/secret item in the level that was smoothly flowing by, when a freaking necromorph popped-out of a vent to suck my face!  After a few hard shakes of the controller, the beast was beaten off, but was immediately joined by a frikken legion of zombies.  This fearful encounter is one of many frights in Dead Space: Extraction, including the emotion from your allies.

Dead Space Extraction is a prequel to 2008's Dead Space, taking place in the day before Isaac Clarke (protagonist of the series) arrives.  It follows – literally follows; it’s a rail-shooter – a detective leading a rag-tag group of survivors through the hellish confines of a planet-side colony and the halls of the Ishimura.  Frequenting common locations from the Dead Space lore (and some very new locales), anyone who’s played DS will swoon with nostalgia.

There are a few return characters as well gracing the game as the new persons you play as.  I have a beef, though, with these well-meant but poorly executed actors.  The first is, namely, that any person can easily see that these characters are just actors not paid enough.  During the most intense of exchanges, lines are delivered flatly, without conviction or urgency (something that a zombie outbreak would surely entail).   This is especially seen when one of the characters loses an arm, but is A-OK, running through the ship, single-handedly destroying zombies before getting to safety. The 3D models look worried/amused/confused/scared, but emotion is left behind in the sound booth.

Along with the places and persons of Dead Space, the reeking terror is back as well, despite the slow dialogue.  Necromorphs are killing everything, and Extraction places the player into positions that send familiar chills down the spine of the gamer.  This dreadful feeling has been long-missed since my last Dead Space 2 play-through.  With the usual jack-in-the-box thrills, the unending onslaughts of the dead, and tight-corner caution, this freak-fest will get the adrenaline pumping. These scares are only magnified by the harshness of controls (the game is meant to be played with a motion control device).  Scares here are great and of distinct Dead Space flavor, but this is only because the best characters (the necros) deliver the creepy atmosphere for play.

Overall, Dead Space: Extraction is a good game to play for those looking for an easily delivered thrill.  Without much character to the characters, don’t expect a solid narration when running through the ship to go along with scary encounters.  Don’t let the plastic personalities keep a horror lover from playing this game, though, but if a title like Dead Space, Dead Space 2, or similar title is available to play instead, a gamer’s priorities may need to be set.

In other news, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is being played.  That title is already a blast to play, so it’s easily guessed how the review will be.  Until said review, take care!